Still on Nuku Hiva, and happy about it!   Monday 24/07/2023

Things move slowly here, but I’m delighted to report that they have been moving in the right direction. Completely stripping down the whole autopilot we found what was broken: inside the mechanism, just past the motor, a plastic plate was broken, and this meant that several cogs were pushed out of alignment. The question then was: what caused it to break? (The fact that it is made out of plastic suggests that there is normally little pressure on it). The answer is the transducer, which physically enables the operation – electrical testing showed it was not working properly. The result of this was that regardless of how much to starboard it was already going, it wanted to go further, and this continual pressure seems to have caused the damage. Fortunately a replacement is available in Tahiti and is going to come in by plane in the next couple of days (it’s a small part so freight cost is not an issue). This means that – hopefully! – we will be able to leave, possibly as early as the end of the week.

One thing I must say is that I’ve learned a lot in assisting my French guy Gael in taking the whole system apart. Let’s face it, I’m never going to make a mechanic or a technician. Apart from skill, one problem, as always, is that you need the right tools. But I certainly now have a pretty decent knowledge of how the entire system works, which should come in handy instructing an expert in what has been done and why – and I’ll be able to understand what he then might be telling me. So basically I’ve been upgraded as a result of all this! (To be fair, there’s still a lot of room for further improvement, haha).

Life is swings and roundabouts really. The big plus offsetting these technical problems is that I’ve been growing more and more fond of Nuku Hiva as I’ve spent more time here. Tomorrow is four weeks – quite a while. I imagine that most people coming here might spend a few days, but then they’re off. It’s interesting: if you stay much longer, longer than say 15 days, you start to see a place quite differently. Maybe it starts to irritate you – or perhaps it really grows on you. For me it’s definitely the latter. It’s such a beautiful island, outstanding views in all directions, the climate is great and the atmosphere very relaxed and pleasant. I went into the post office this morning to get a top-up card for my local mobile number and the man working there couldn’t have been more friendly and helpful, even speaking a bit of English. There’s no need to chain and padlock the dinghy to something when you go ashore, or to padlock it to your boat at night lest it be stolen. I sleep with the companionway hatch open every night, no need to worry about someone coming aboard to steal. As far as I can make out, there’s no crime here. (People pull up in their truck outside the supermarket and wander in, leaving the windows open and the keys in the ignition. Try that in most places and by the time you’ve picked up a pint of milk you will be an ex-truck owner). 

Isn’t it funny: you come to one of the most remote parts of the world and what do you find? Civilisation.